Antique Bronze and Silver Inlaid Betel Nut Box

Antique Philippine Brass and Copper Betel Nut Box. The top lifts to reveal 2 hinged compartments that held the betel leaf and areca nut. Inlaid in c...

Antique Bronze Verdigris Box with with Applied Greek Key Decoration. Box is wood lined and would have held cigarettes or trinkets.

Mid 19th century English rosewood box with rounded brass edges, the top and front inlaid with brass lines and decorative devices in the corners. T...

Brass edged and inlaid Vanity / Dresser / Jewelry (relined) box having flush mounted lift handles on each side, the front and top with brass line inlay inside the brass edging and wi...

A scarce fine quality antique silver-inlaid solid brass betel nut box (Lutuan), dating to the second half of the 19th / early 20th century, hand-crafted in Mindanao, Philippines. Boxes such as this were used to store the areca nut (also known as the betel nut) which would be wrapped in a betel leaf with lime paste and other ingredients, often tobacco, for chewing. Similar to the European tea caddy, these boxes often served as a way to impress while showing off ones wealth. Betel chewing was prevalent in the southern Philippines as in much of the rest of Southeast Asia. Wealthier Maranao families on Mindanao were able to afford elaborate silver-inlaid brass betel boxes such as this example. Such boxes were used to show off to guests and from which they were offered betel and the other component such as leaves and lime to make up the betel quid. Rare large size, most extant examples of such boxes tend to measure around 5 inches in length. At slightly more than 7.75 inches the example here is larger than most. The distinctive decorative box features a very heavy strong-box like rectangular shaped chest form with canted corners, copper handles, and a conforming hinged lid, lifting open to reveal an interior divided into three compartments covered by four hinged lids. Each of these doors is inlaid with silver in stylized orchid flower patterns. Exceptionally executed throughout, the arabesque silver inlaid exterior is decorated to the top with a large orchid motif within scrolling obid-obid (stylized rope) borders. The front, back and sides are inlaid with sets of stylized tail feathers of the sari-manok bird beneath which are unusual, highly stylized whimsical zoomorphic faces that appear like cat or tiger faces. (Such stylisation is accounted for by Southeast Asian Islamic preferences to avoid the overt and this potentially idolatrous representation of animal and human forms. Designs such as these are drawn from a local design repertoire that has its origins in wood carving. Although the spread of Islam in the Philippines began in the 14th century, mostly through the influence of Muslim merchants from the western Malay Archipelago, decorative arts in this design remain exceptionally rare. This lutuan represents a fine example of Islamic metalwork from the most eastern outreach of Islamic art and civilisation: Mindanao island being significantly further east than even China – artwork from Islamic Southeast Asia remains chronically under-represented in the world’s major collections of Islamic art. PROVENANCE / ACQUISITION Acquired from highly reputable auction house, Austin Auction Gallery, established 1983, Austin, Texas. References Brownrigg, H., Betel Cutters...

A betel nut box. Hill Tribe Betel Nut Box, from the Hill Tribes that live amongst Thailand and Loa borders in the mountain hills. Hand made of hard wood ...

An antique Thai wooden betel nut box from the early 20th century, with carved décor and pierced motifs. Born in Thailand during the early 20th century, this antique wooden betel nut ...

Betel Nut is consumed on a daily basis in a large portion of the Indonesian Archipelago. In Java, betel nut was offered as a sign of respect and hospitality when people would visit o...